Sarah Morgan
“Grossly unremarkable” is my new favorite compliment. Because that’s what my lungs are. “No evidence of metastatic disease to the chest.”
Also, every time I think Penn Medicine can’t get better, they do. They speed up my appointments without me even asking – call me with results before I even get home – and oh, their online health records system? Well, you know how I feel about paperless organization.
But, let’s be serious for a minute to make the long story short: we are go for launch. It’s radioactive iodine (RAI) time.
I’d been extra-full of iodine from a CT scan when I was re-hospitalized. That’s all out.
My lungs came back clear. (See lion cub above for appropriate reaction.)
Three pesky lymph nodes in my neck are swollen. They may just be riled up from the surgery and infection. But, even they’re up to something nefarious, that’s the sort of thing the RAI is for.
So. I’m on a half dose of thyroid hormone for two weeks. Then, I go completely off for another two weeks, and on a low-iodine diet.
I’m skipping details, but I’m trying to do a medical synopsis while watching Jimmy Fallon unendingly stirring the pot. Not easy, friends. You know what you can do.
A month from now, I have a tracer dose of radiation one day, and scan and then a full dose of radioactive iodine the next day. I’m radioactive and isolated for a week. I go back on my thyroid medication and normal diet. More scans to see what’s what.
And that is the whole shebang that is “RAI”.
The next month, as I first “go hypo” and then radioactive, might not be great fun. I’ll be on disability for another month or so. But, whatever, you know? It’s for a useful purpose. Let’s do this.
Background
First post – diagnosis
Update 1 – the plan / fear
Update 2 – giving blood
Update 3 – post-surgery
Update 4 – the other half of the time
Update 5 – summer is icumen in
